Riverview Regional Medical Center Over the last several years, Riverview Regional Medical Center (RRMC) has been going through a number of challenges. This is because there were transformations in how different services are: provided, perceptions about the facility's fiscal stability and reimbursements from government programs. The combination of these factors has created operational difficulties. This is from the intense competition they are facing from Gadsden Regional Medical Center (GRMC) and the University of Alabama.

Yet, they are known for having some of the best programs (in the state) to include: heart burn, cardiac and vascular treatment options. As a result, the facility has the potential to become one of the premiere hospitals in the area. However, the underlying challenges are impacting their ability to remain economically viable in the future. To fully understand what is occurring requires looking at: various stakeholder groups, the target markets of existing programs / gaps in the firm's current strategy, the services / products that could be developed with existing resources, the services that must be strengthened, how the firm can deal with its image problem and the best approach for improving the relationship with staff. Together, these different elements will highlight the underlying challenges impacting the hospital and possible strategies for dealing with them. This is the point that RRMC will be more responsive to needs of stakeholders (leading to an increase in their bottom line results). ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

Identify the six (6) stakeholder groups for Riverview Regional Medical Center (RRMC).

The six different stakeholders groups include: the community / patients, the board of directors, HMA shareholders, the staff, management inside the facility and regulators. The community and their perceptions of RRMC will have an impact on the total number of procedures that are performed. This is because, any kind of positive or negative impression will be compared with the services provided by GRMC and the University of Alabama. As a result, maintaining a positive image is important for the long-term success of the facility inside the community. ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

The board of directors is concerned about meeting the larger objectives for the parent company (HMA). This means that they want to increase their profit margins dramatically and reduce costs. Any kind of innovations or cut backs, are designed to provide the facility with more of an advantage in reaching these objectives. ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

HMA shareholders want to see the profits at hospital maximized. This will help to contribute to an increase in the earnings per share of the company. Over the course of time, this creates a large increase in the value of the stock. Once this takes place, is when the parent company can compete more effectively against other providers. ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

The staff plays a critical part in delivering the best quality services possible. Their participation in programs is essential for ensuring that perceptions improve and more treatment options are provided. In the future, this will have an effect on the earnings of the facility with patients comparing the quality to others in the area. ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

The management helps to set the tone of the operating environment. This occurs based on: the kinds of programs that are enacted, how quickly they respond to changes and the quality of services. These factors will decide if patients will continue to use the facility to address their health care needs. ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

Regulators will have an impact upon the specific rules that are applied and the amount of reimbursements provided. This will have an effect on the profit margins and costs for the hospital. As a result, any kind of sudden changes from this group of stakeholders will influence profit margins of the facility. ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

Discuss the target markets of existing programs and identify gaps in RRMC's marketing strategy.

The target market that RRMC programs currently are focused on is the general population. Evidence of this can be seen with the total number of procedures that were treated in the emergency room last year (i.e. chest, abdominal, back pain and shortness of breath). These areas are illustrating that the hospital is an emphasis on: general practice and family medicine. As a result, their target audience is mainly middle to low income families (in the form of their primary care provider)....

("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)
The biggest gaps in their marketing strategy, is that they are taking a one size fits all approach (when it comes to their customers). This is because the facility has a tradition of providing these kinds of services to the community. In general, this has helped RRMC to create programs that are catered to these segments. However, the biggest problem with this strategy is the facility is trying to offer something to everyone. This has resulted in programs closing down that were popular, but had no strategic economic value. When this happened, the hospital began to have an image problem that hurt demand. ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

Moreover, this focus is resulting in a reduction from programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. This is forcing the facility to have different costs structures that are utilized by these programs and everyone else. At the same time, the Medi Key program is only shifting the marketing strategy to the same audience using a different format. These issues are troubling, as they are not providing other avenues for reaching out to patients. ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

Discuss new services or products that could be developed with existing resources.

The new services that can be developed with hospital's resources are: increased access to specialists and more outpatient clinics. The way that a system of specialists can be implemented is to: determine what procedures are covered by GRMC, the University of Alabama and other facilities in the area. Those services that have been reduced, eliminated or are difficult to find will be evaluated as possible programs of interest. It is at this point that a study will be conducted to determine if it is economically viable and can address specific needs of different stakeholders. In the case of RRMC, some programs that can be implemented include: cancer treatment, pediatrics and diabetes research. (Holland, 2011) (Liu, 2008) ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

At the same time, general services could be offered in the form of outpatient clinics. This can be accomplished by partnering with nonprofits (i.e. The Red Cross and Doctors without Borders) to reduce costs and address critical needs in the community. If this kind of approach can be used, it will help the hospital to offer more services and decrease the total amount of expenses. ("Living Cities Partners to Promote National Collaboration," 2011) ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

Discuss services that need to be strengthened and promoted to control out migration from the primary service area.

The services that need to be strengthened include: the government contract for working with military families / veterans, the Women's Pavilion needs to be reopened and the facility must eliminate duplicate services. If the relationship is strengthened with military families and veterans, this could help to provide the hospital with a larger patient load. To reduce costs and increase quality, the various nonprofits could work with the facility in addressing specific needs on select days of the week (i.e. Tuesday and Thursday). This will reduce the liabilities associated with running the program and improve the underlying services. ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

If the Women's Pavilion was reopened, this would give everyone more confidence about the financial strength of RRMC. One possible strategy that can be used to help defray the long-term costs is to work in conjunction with foundations that can offer grants. Moreover, select parts of the facility could be rented out as medical office space. This could help decrease the costs and provide added amounts of income for RRMC. ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

The elimination of duplicate services will prevent RRMC from directly competing against other hospitals in the same market. Instead, delivering services that these organizations do not offer will address the most critical needs of the community. This is when patients will begin to see RRMC differently and will utilize the hospital for these services. ("Riverview Regional Medical Center," 2005, pp. 686 -- 704)

Describe what RRMC should do to counter its image problem in the community because of its decision to close the Women's Pavilion.

If RRMC was able to reopen the Women's Pavilion, it will directly address the image problem. The only difference is that some kind of approach must be used that will ensure there is alternative forms of financing. At the same time, there must be an emphasis on controlling costs. The best way to achieve these objectives…